Carry That Tune!
by WhazzupPeeps
Summary: The groms organize a talent show for charity and Lo forms a music group with her mother, Fin and Emma to take part in the show. Captain Ron's lackeys Tuna and Betty also enter the show and want the spotlight for themselves.
1. Take That, Reef!

**CHAPTER 1 - TAKE THAT, REEF! (OR LENDING A HAND)**

**Here's my newest entry, a little something for all the ReeFin fans out there. While there'll be a good chunk of action between Fin and Reef in this tale, it'll also be somewhat of an ensemble story (as noted in the capsule summary). With the _Stoked_ episode "Surfer's Got Talent" coming up (or already played, depending on where you live), I'm centering this story around a talent show (not a talent contest like "Surfer's Got Talent") for charity, and what happens when Captain Ron decides to get his lackeys Tuna and Betty involved.**

**This story laps over the end of Season One and the start of Season Two, taking place approximately between just after "A Boy Named Leslie" and the early episodes of S2. Don't worry, there won't be _any_ Lo/Reef action happening in this or any of my other stories here.**

* * *

><p>At the Surfer's Paradise hotel beach, Fin and Reef were enjoying a rare day off from work, courtesy of Mr. Ridgemount (thanks to their recent victory over Captain Ron's team in the Staff Tandem Surfing Contest), by catching a surf session before lunch. Fin rode up the wave face to do an aerial 360, then landed in time to see Reef come up behind her and do an open-face air off the wall of water while grandstanding to anyone watching from the shore, then did a spinning move on his second launch off the wave face. "Ha! Take that, amateur!" the cocky Reef crowed to Fin after landing. "Got you beat again!"<p>

"Eat surf, kook!" Fin retorted. "You couldn't beat eggs if you had a mixer!"

"You're just jealous that I always one-up you every time we hit the waves," Reef bragged. "There's no shame in admitting that you're second-best to me, babe!"

"Oh, yeah? We'll see about that!" Fin remarked before she cut back and passed Reef by to join her grandmother, Amanda McCloud, who had just arrived on the wave herself. Mrs. McCloud had originally planned to return home to Halifax after her two-week vacation at Surfer's Paradise wrapped up, but thanks to her successfully coaching Fin and Reef to victory in the Tandem Surfing Contest, hotel owner Mr. Ridgemount had rewarded her by adding two extra weeks to her stay at the hotel, giving her more time to spend with Fin and the rest of the groms.

"Hey Grandma, let's show Reef what we can do!" Fin called over to her grandmother. "Routine One?"

"You got it, honey," Mrs. McCloud, who was decked out in the yellow, orange and pink wetsuit she got from Lo to wear for her surfing demo at the Tandem Surfing Contest, agreed on Fin's call of which surfing move to use. Right then, the McClouds rode up and off the wall of water and did synchronized rodeo flips together, stunning Reef as he watched.

"Still think I'm 'second-best' now, hodad?" Fin taunted Reef after she landed back on the water.

"Ha, just a lucky shot!" Reef retorted in an attempt to save face and minimize Fin and her grandmother besting him. "Don't make a difference to me 'cause I'm still a better surfer than you any day of the week."

"Let's see if you think _this_ is lucky, then!" Mrs. McCloud then called to Reef as she cut back, rode through the green room and came out the other end trailing her right hand along the wall of water, then went up off its lip and, while grabbing the edge of her board with her left hand, did a one-handed handstand on the board while doing a 360 in the air before landing on the water again, with both feet back on her board. An astonished Reef said nothing when Mrs. McCloud got close and told him, "That's the move that won me my last Canadian championship back in '87, before I retired from competing."

After Mrs. McCloud pulled away and rode back to the shore, Fin pulled up to Reef next. "What's wrong Reef, catfish got your tongue?" she teased the surfer boy, who was not looking so full of himself now. "Not so quick to flap your lips now that you've been beat by someone who's been retired from competitive surfing longer than you've been alive, huh?"

"Whatever," Reef said dismissively. "I still look better on my worst day than you do on your best," he then bragged to Fin to get under her skin as only he could do.

"In your dreams, squid!" Fin snapped at Reef, who then watched admiringly as the pretty blonde surfer girl pulled away toward the shore, grinning a satisfied grin as he celebrated a self-claimed moral win, even if he had not beaten Fin or Mrs. McCloud on the waves.

As Reef and the McClouds returned to shore, Fin spotted Lo walking toward the beach with her board tucked under her right arm, looking somewhat sullen and a little sad at the same time. "Hey Lo, what's up?" she asked the rich girl. "You look like your kid brother swiped the last breakfast croissant before you could get it."

"I wish it were that simple," Lo muttered.

"Okay, Lo, something's got you feeling less than your usual chipper self," Fin said, "so spill the beans. What's the matter?"

"I was watching a news report on the TV back at the staff house before I got here," Lo explained. "The RCMP busted a puppy mill over on the mainland near Kelowna, arrested its owners and had the SPCA take a bunch of dogs and puppies away. It just made me angry that some people care less about the dogs they keep and about their welfare than they do about the money they make off breeding them constantly, but I also felt sad for those poor dogs." Lo, who loved animals (particularly dogs), had a history of being affected emotionally by hearing about stories of animal abuse in the news, on occasion even crying if she heard that the animals, especially if they were dogs or cats, died as a result of cruelty by abusive owners.

"Sorry to hear that, Lo," Fin reassured her friend, putting her hand on Lo's shoulder. "It can't be easy hearing stories like that."

"There's an easy way to solve that problem - stop watching the news," Reef suggested unhelpfully, earning him an elbow to the ribs and a glare from Fin.

"Shut up, Reef!" Lo snapped. "I can't help feeling the way I do about animals. They don't deserve to get treated so badly by owners who don't even deserve to have them if they can't treat 'em right."

"You know, there are ways you could help deal with problems like those," Mrs. McCloud then spoke up. "Never buying a dog from a disreputable breeder's a way to start. You could also volunteer with the local animal shelter by helping to feed and look after the animals there. Even donating money to a shelter to help them cover their operating costs can go a long way."

A light then went on above Lo's head after hearing Mrs. McCloud's suggestion. "Hey, that sounds like a good idea! Thanks, Mrs. McCloud," she said, turning to hug Fin's grandmother in gratitude for the advice. "Now I know what I can do to help."

"Not a problem, dear," Mrs. McCloud replied as she responded in kind by hugging Lo back. "What do you have in mind to help the animals?"

"Now that I think about it," Lo said thoughtfully, "the donating money idea just might work. Maybe even a fundraiser of some kind..."

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter, Lo makes her pitch about a talent show fundraiser to her parents and the groms start organizing the event by announcing auditions. Plus, what will Tuna and Betty do when they find out about the auditions?<strong>

**_Stoked_ (c) Fresh TV Inc. and Teletoon. I don't own the show or any of the characters.**

**Comments and reviews are welcome.**


	2. Lo Gets the Ball Rolling

**CHAPTER 2 - LO GETS THE BALL ROLLING  
><strong>

After their surf session at the hotel beach, Reef, Fin, Mrs. McCloud and Lo went over to the Pirate Ship restaurant for lunch. Lo took her friends there because she knew her parents would be having lunch there at the same time and she wanted to discuss her fundraising idea with them.

While Fin, Mrs. McCloud and Reef took their seats at a table, Lo went over to a booth where her family was sitting for lunch when Emma, who was on duty, arrived at Fin's table. "Hey guys, how'd your surf sesh go?" Emma asked.

"Epic waves out there, Alberta," Fin reported. "Totally awesome. You shoulda been there to see it when Grandma used those waves to put Reef in his place with a killer trick after he started bragging about his skills again."

"You kidding me?" Reef commented. "I could do a trick like that with my eyes closed and one hand tied behind my back!"

"Care to put that to the test, Reef?" Mrs. McCloud dared him, raising an eyebrow at him while seeking to make Reef back up his bravado with action.

When Reef looked over and saw Mrs. McCloud smirking at him the same way Fin usually did when she called him out on his bragging, he backed off. "I can do it, but I'd rather not," he said to try and save face.

"Sure Reef, whatever you say," Emma said with a giggle while Fin and Mrs. McCloud also laughed at Reef's expense. "So what's Lo up to over at the Ridgemount booth?" she then asked, indicating the hotel heiress where she was talking with her parents while older brother Ty and bratty younger brother George watched.

"She got an idea to do a fundraiser for the animal shelter in town..." Fin began.

"But she won't tell us what kinda fundraiser it is," Reef interrupted.

"She wants to wait until she tells her folks about it first before she tells us," Fin said after giving Reef a dirty look for interrupting her. "Whatever it is, it's gotta be something good if she wants to pitch her idea to them first."

* * *

><p>"A talent show?" an incredulous George said when he heard Lo suggest her fundraising idea to their parents. "<em>Lame!<em>" he then added with a snicker, which earned him an elbow to the arm from Ty in response.

"Hey, watch it!" George said, rubbing his arm where Ty elbowed him.

"A talent show's not lame, George," Ty chided his younger brother. "It's a good idea for fundraising for charity. The animal shelter's been needing funding for a while for food, medication and operating costs and the donations they've been getting lately, well..." he said with a shrug.

"Yeah, nothing to e-mail home about," Lo agreed. Continuing her appeal to her parents, she added, "Not only would it be great for the animal shelter, it'll also be fab publicity for the hotel. So what do you say, Daddy? Can we hold a talent show for the shelter?"

"If I agree to let you do this, Lauren," Mr. Ridgemount told Lo, "you'll have to be responsible for organizing the event yourself. You can't do like you did with the Surf for the Cure Tournament where Rosie did the majority of the work while you took the credit. You can ask your friends to help you, but you're going to have to lead by example."

"Don't worry Daddy, I will," Lo promised. "I already have my plans mapped out. I'll call the shelter to tell them about the show, then I'll get flyers printed out calling for auditions for talent and I'll put them up around the hotel and in town, then I'll look for a venue to book for the show..."

"Oh, don't worry about booking a venue, Kitten," Mr. Ridgemount said. "You can use the hotel theatre for the auditions and the talent show. And to help out, whatever amount the show takes in, I'll double that amount and donate the entire night's gate to the shelter."

"So does that mean..." Lo asked, hopeful for an affirmative answer.

"Consider the talent show a go, Princess," Mr. Ridgemount declared. "You can start working on it right away."

"_EEEEE!_" Lo squealed happily when she heard her father say yes to the show. "Oh, thank you Daddy, I love you!" she said gratefully as she went over to hug Mr. Ridgemount. "I won't let you down. You'll be proud of me when it's all said and done!"

"I know you'll work hard and do the hotel proud, Pumpkin," Mr. Ridgemount said proudly, while Mrs. Ridgemount and Ty also looked pleased with Lo getting her opportunity. George, on the other hand, stuck his finger in his mouth and pretended to gag as a show of what he thought of Lo's plan, earning him a glare from Ty.

Lo then hustled back to Fin's table, where Fin, Mrs. McCloud and Reef were waiting to hear from her as Emma returned to the table carrying a tray with glasses of water for the foursome. "We saw your reaction, so I won't ask what your dad said to your plan," Fin said. "So dish, what kind of fundraiser are you gonna have for the shelter?"

"It's going to be a talent show," Lo explained, telling her friends about her father's plan to let her use the hotel theatre for the event and to match the total donations the show took in with one of his own, in return for her organizing the show.

"That's awesome, Lo!" Emma said, happy for Lo getting over the first hurdle with her fundraiser plans. "You need us to help you out with anything for the show?"

Lo then got a gleam in her eye when she heard Emma volunteer to help out. "Sure, I wouldn't mind a little help," she said with a smile. "I've got some ideas in mind..."

* * *

><p>Right after Mr. Ridgemount gave his approval for holding the talent show at Surfer's Paradise, Lo immediately got to work with organizing the event, starting with getting Johnny to type out and print flyers with the front desk computer announcing auditions for the show at the hotel, while she called the animal shelter and told its manager about the show and its purpose. When the shelter gave its endorsement to the show, Fin, Reef and Broseph joined Lo in putting some of the audition flyers up around the hotel, which drew Bummer's initial suspicion when he first saw what the groms were doing. When Lo explained that the show was for charity and that it had her father's blessing (even inviting Bummer to call Mr. Ridgemount if he needed proof), the day manager grudgingly allowed Lo and company to proceed.<p>

Once they were done at the hotel, Fin, Reef, Lo and Broseph headed off to Sunset Beach in Lo's Jeep to get the other flyers put up at assorted businesses around town, starting with the animal shelter. After finishing up papering every business in the downtown area, along with most of the stores at a shopping plaza on the highway heading out of town toward Campbell River, the hungry groms decided on dinner at a drive-in eatery called Starvin' Marvin's, located on the corner of the Campbell River highway and Lincoln Street near the plaza.

"Not a moment too soon," Broseph commented as the Jeep pulled up in front of the drive-in. "I'm starvin', yo."

"I hear ya, man," Reef agreed while Lo got out to bring the last of the flyers over to post on the drive-in's bulletin board. "I think I hear a triple-decker cheeseburger calling my name right now."

"Don't even think of letting out a loud burp in front of me, kook, or you'll be eating the wrapper your burger comes in," Fin warned Reef.

"Perish the thought, babe - I'll just let one out behind you," Reef joked, making Fin snarl at him.

"Okay guys, I just got the last of the audition flyers posted," Lo announced as she returned to the Jeep. "Now let's order up, I'm famished."

A few minutes later, the groms were in the middle of munching on their burgers and fries when Reef noticed a sports coupe arrive at Starvin' Marvin's and pull up beside the Jeep on the passenger side. "Uh-oh, guess who decided to show up," Reef said, recognizing the car's occupants when he glanced over.

Fin also looked over to the coupe. "And there went my appetite," she quipped as she recognized Tuna McGillis and Betty Sandstone getting out of the car. "The king and queen of posers just arrived."

Hearing what Fin said, Tuna and Betty walked over beside the Jeep. "Speakin' of posers, check out the two pretenders to the tandem surfing throne, Betty," Tuna drawled in his distinctive surfer-boy accent as he looked at Reef and Fin. "Don't know how you managed to beat us at that contest, bra, but you both got lucky out there."

"Luck's got nothing to do with it," Fin retorted. "We beat you in spite of you trying to cheat to get the win. And don't deny it either, we know you tried melting off the wax on our board."

"Whatev, dudette," Tuna said. "It still don't change the fact that me and Betty are still the superior surfers. Come Gromfest, we're gonna prove it when we enter _and_ we beat you for those trophies."

"In your dreams, flounder-boy," Reef said with a poke at Tuna's nickname. "And even in your dreams, you're still gonna be on the second-place podium beside me when they give me the trophy for the win."

Tuna started laughing derisively at Reef's boast about Gromfest when he noticed a piece of paper fall out of the back of the Jeep where Lo and Broseph were sitting. Bending down to pick up the paper, Tuna checked it out and discovered what it was. "Check this out, babe," he said to Betty as he showed the deeply-tanned bleach-blonde surfer chick the paper. "Says here they're havin' auditions for a talent show over at Surfer's Toxic Waste Dump in a couple of days."

"Hey, that's my dad's hotel you're talking about!" said a displeased Lo, who did not take kindly to Tuna's snide remark about Surfer's Paradise. "And why would you be interested in a talent show anyway? Surfing's your thing, right?" she added, realizing that Tuna had picked up a leftover audition flyer she had forgotten about.

"Maybe surfing ain't the only thing I'm primo in, babe," Tuna told Lo. "Maybe me and Betty can belt out the tuneage too, don'tcha think?"

"You two, good singers?" Reef scoffed, not believing Tuna's claim. "Yeah, right! I bet the only place you could carry a tune is in the shower, and even that's stretching it for you!"

"Oh, yeah?" Tuna said. "Y'know, just to prove we're serious, me and Betty _will_ enter that talent show of yours and blow away our comps. When it's all over," he continued to brag as he put his arm around Betty's shoulders, "_We're_ gonna be the stars of that show and that means we're gonna get the glory and the publicity for Captain Ron and his hotel. Don't forget it, bra."

"Forget what, _bra?_" Reef said mockingly before he started laughing. "Soon as you hit the stage, I bet you both get laughed right off the second you open your mouths."

An unimpressed Tuna crumpled up the audition flyer and tossed it at Reef's chest in response. "Still don't matter what you think, losers," he said to the groms. "We're still gonna steal the show when they put the spotlight on me and Betty and there's nothin' you hodads can do 'bout it!"

After getting their orders to go, Tuna and Betty then left the drive-in in Tuna's coupe. "Wow, grumpy much, Tuna?" Lo remarked with a raised eyebrow as she watched Captain Ron's stooges go.

"That's just Tuna full of hot air as usual," Fin said. "He's like a scruffier version of Reef, that's all."

"Maybe, but he'll never have a coif as good as mine," Reef added, running his hand through his quiff-styled hair while Fin glanced at him and rolled her eyes. "Bank on it."

"Daddy won't be happy to hear about Tuna and Betty entering the show to represent Captain Ron," Lo then said, "especially after what Tuna said. What're we going to do to stop him and Betty from trying to steal the spotlight at the show like he said?"

While Lo talked, Fin thought about it for a moment before she snapped her fingers. "I think there's a way we can make sure those two don't steal the glory," she said with a grin.

* * *

><p><strong>Coming up, Fin puts her plan in action when she, Lo and Emma form a singing group to enter the talent show to counter Tuna and Betty. Lo's mom also joins the group, but Betty makes a discovery during a spy mission that she, Tuna and Captain Ron could put to use against the group.<strong>


	3. Singing Surprise

**CHAPTER 3 - SINGING SURPRISE  
><strong>

**This new chapter picks up as Fin and Lo start laying the foundations for their singing group. On a couple of notes, the tune Reef attempts to sing to try to prove his singing skills to Fin is the same one he sang to Lo in the _Stoked_ Season Two episode "Hunka Hunka Burning Reef", with the first line modified to rhyme with a certain surfer girl's name. Also, because Emilie-Claire Barlow, who voices Mrs. Ridgemount on the show, is a jazz singer in real life, I picked a tune for Mrs. R to sing for her group audition that Ms. Barlow has actually recorded herself at one point.**

* * *

><p>Emma had finished up her waitressing shift at the Pirate Ship a few minutes ago and was on her way back to the staff house to change into her bikini for a session at the Office when she overheard some arguing going on from a distance. As the sounds got closer, Emma then recognized the arguing voices as those of Fin and Reef, who had just come back with Lo and Broseph from Sunset Beach.<p>

"Forget it, Reef! It's not gonna happen!" Fin said to the cocky surfer.

"Oh, you bet it is, sister!" Reef shot back. "You're just afraid I'll outclass you the same way I do at surfing. Or are you jealous because you know I'll sound a lot better than you?"

"Me, jealous? HA!" Fin retorted. "Dream on, tin ear!"

"What're you guys arguing about?" a curious Emma asked.

"We just came from grabbing dinner at Starvin' Marvin's Drive-In back in town," Lo began, "and we put up a flyer for the talent show auditions on their bulletin board. Well, guess who showed up, found out about the show and decided to sign up for it."

"Oh, don't tell me," said Emma, who had a suspicion. "Tuna and Betty?"

"I guess it wasn't enough for them to get whipped at tandem surfing," Fin said. "So Tuna said he and Betty were gonna enter the show and be the stars in it. Lo said her dad wouldn't be happy about that, so I said we could counter Tuna and Betty by forming a singing group to enter the show too."

"And that's a group _I_ plan to be the lead singer in," Reef bragged.

"And I said no way, Reef!" Fin said. "It's bad enough as it is that you're a glory hog, but you couldn't carry a tune if it had handles on it either!"

"_Ha!_ I knew it," Reef then teased Fin. "You ARE jealous that I'm a better singer than you!"

"Oh, really?" Fin said slyly, now getting an idea to make Reef choke on his words. "Prove it then. If you're really that good a singer, then sing me a song. I want to hear how good you really are."

"Okay, I will!" Reef said. "I've got one for you I worked on for a while." After clearing his throat, he then launched into his song:

_If she was a color, it would be jasmine_  
><em>Her hair is so shiny, it makes me all...piney<em>  
><em>I'm head over heels, for that chick...that..chick...<em>

Reef's hesitant, off-key singing did not impress any of the girls though, as Fin, Lo and Emma all covered their ears. "Okay Reef, stop already! STOP!" Fin snapped at Reef, cutting him off before he could finish. "Please, spare our eardrums!"

"C'mon, I'm not finished yet!" Reef protested. "I've still got the best part to get to."

"Actually, you _are_ finished," Fin said. "You just proved why you're not gonna be the lead singer. In fact, for what Lo and I have in mind, there'll only be girls singing in this group."

"Aw man, what a rip!" Reef grumbled, then sat down on the front porch steps and began sulking with his arms crossed.

"Wait, I didn't say you wouldn't be a part of the group," Fin said, trying to smooth over Reef's feelings. "You will be, just not as a singer. But I know you play percussion, and we _do_ need a percussion man to back us up musically and set the rhythm of the song."

Reef looked up at Fin a moment. "Really?" he said.

"You bet," Fin said. "You won't be alone on musical backup either." Turning to Broseph, she continued, "Since Broseph plays guitar, he can join you."

"I will?" Broseph said, sounding surprised to be asked.

"Sure, Broseph," Fin said. "I haven't forgotten when you did that acoustic guitar jam with Ripper and David down on the beach a few weeks ago. You guys were good, that's why I'd like you to join us on guitar."

"_Ehh,_ I don't know..." a hesitant Broseph said. "Performing for a few friends is one thing, but a whole crowd..."

"Relax, Broseph," Fin reassured her friend. "I know you don't like competing for trophies or prizes, but it's just a talent show, not a contest, so there's no pressure to compete. You just have to play music with your friends, that's it."

"Okay, fair enough," Broseph said with a shrug. "I'll join you guys."

"Right on," Fin said with a grin, slapping five with Broseph. "So now we've got the musical backup we need, but we still need two more singers to round out the singing quartet." Thinking for a moment, she then turned toward Emma. "Emma, you know how to sing, don't you?" Fin asked the ponytailed redhead.

"Sure, a little," Emma replied. "I did some singing in school choirs when I was younger."

"Can you do harmony singing?" Fin said.

"That's one of my strengths," Emma confirmed. "My music teacher taught us all about it later in grade school."

"Cool, you're in," Fin said, pleasing Emma. "If we're gonna get the better of Tuna and Betty, we have to play to our strengths and sound really good when we get on stage. Now we have to find one more singer."

* * *

><p>The next day, Fin, Lo and Emma, all of whom were taking breaks from their respective jobs, got together in the hotel lobby to practice for the talent show with a few songs when Mrs. Ridgemount stepped out from the elevator that led directly to the Ridgemount penthouse. Upon hearing the girls singing, the hotel owner's wife listened for a moment, then walked up to them. "Hey, that's very fly tuneage fo' shizzle, girlfriends," an impressed Mrs. Ridgemount said, going into hip-hop mode. "What's the 411 with your crew and the show?"<p>

While an embarrassed Lo rolled her eyes at hearing her mother trying to imitate Snoop Dogg, Fin gave Mrs. Ridgemount the update. "We're getting a singing group together to enter the show 'cause we found out Tuna and Betty are entering to represent Captain Ron," she explained.

"_Ohh_, I don't think your father's going to like that news when he hears it, honey," Mrs. Ridgemount told Lo.

"That's just what I said too!" Lo stated. "Tuna even said he and Betty plan to be the 'stars' of the show when they do their act. I don't know how they're going to do it, but that's why we have to enter the show ourselves, to counter whatever they might have up their sleeves."

"And we're still trying to look for a singer to round out our quartet," Fin said. "We've already got me, Lo and Emma in, but we need one more."

"_Hmm_, I think I know someone who might be able to help out," Mrs. Ridgemount said.

"Really?" Lo said. "Who?"

To show her what she meant, Mrs. Ridgemount started singing a song she had in mind:

_Like a lover, the morning sun_  
><em>Slowly rises and kisses you awake<em>  
><em>Your smile is soft and fuzzy<em>  
><em>As you let it play upon your face<em>  
><em>Oh, how I dream<em>  
><em>I might be like the morning sun to you<em>

_Like a lover, the river wind_  
><em>Sighs and ripples its fingers through your hair<em>  
><em>Upon your cheek it lingers<em>  
><em>Never having known a sweeter place<em>  
><em>Oh, how I dream<em>  
><em>I might be like the river wind to you<em>

Fin, Emma and especially Lo were stunned to hear just how good a singer Mrs. Ridgemount turned out to be as she belted out the tune. When Mrs. Ridgemount finished, Fin turned to her friends and said with a grin, "Girls, I think we may have found our fourth singer."

"Does it mean I'm in, then?" a hopeful Mrs. Ridgemount said.

"You bet," confirmed Lo, who had at first been worried that her mother would embarrass her by rapping to a hip-hop song. "Welcome aboard, Mom."

"Oh, thank you, girls!" Mrs. Ridgemount said, pleased to hear the news as she then hugged Lo. "With the four of us together, there's no way Captain Ron will upstage us at the talent show!"

"You even sounded good enough that we could have you do a solo part in whatever song we choose for the show," Emma then said as she reached into a snack-sized bag of almonds she was carrying to snack on and pulled out a couple of them. "Like some almonds?" she said to Mrs. Ridgemount, offering her the bag.

"Sorry, no, I can't," Mrs. Ridgemount said, politely refusing the almonds. "Thanks for offering, but I'm allergic to them."

"Oh, sorry about that," Emma said. "How bad?"

"It's just a mild allergy," Mrs. Ridgemount said. "Last time I ate some by mistake in some Chinese takeout, I developed a case of laryngitis. Couldn't speak above a whisper for a few days. Funny thing about it is that I never used to be allergic to almonds, but right after I gave birth to George, that's when the allergy developed."

_Surprise, surprise. Thanks a lot, George,_ Lo thought to herself. "Well, as long as you avoid eating any almonds by mistake," she then told her mother, "I don't think we'll have anything to worry about."

Meanwhile, unknown to the girls and Mrs. Ridgemount, Betty was in the hotel lobby in front of the gift shop, discreetly listening in on their conversation while checking out bikinis on sale to avoid looking suspicious. To keep from being recognized, Betty was disguised with sunglasses, a wig of long dark hair and was wearing a long-sleeved dress to cover up the Pisces tattoo on her upper left arm. After hearing everything the girls had said (including Mrs. Ridgemount mentioning her almond allergy), Betty then walked outside through the main entrance and took out her cell phone to call Tuna.

* * *

><p>Over at Captain Ron's hotel, Tuna was hanging out in that hotel's lobby when his cell phone began ringing. Expecting it to be Betty on the other end, he answered it.<p>

"Hey babe, what's up?" Tuna replied, then he listened to Betty's report on what she overheard. "Uh-huh?...Yeah?...Mm-hmm?...Okay, got it. Catch ya later, babe."

Captain Ron, who was nearby at the front desk, caught Tuna's end of the phone conversation and walked over to find out what his top employees had said. "So, what's the scoop?" Captain Ron asked.

"Just heard from Betty 'bout the talent show over at Surfer's Paradise," Tuna said. "She said Lo Ridgemount, two of her friends and her mother are formin' a singin' group to enter the show to counter me and Betty."

"Anything else?" Captain Ron said.

"She told me somethin' we might be able to use," Tuna then reported. "She said she heard Mrs. Ridgemount's allergic to almonds. Eating them causes her to lose her voice or somethin' like that."

"_Hmm_, I like the sound of that," Captain Ron mused with an evil grin. "That gives me an idea we can put in tandem with our 'secret weapon' that we're gonna use to make sure you and Betty become the stars at the talent show. When Betty gets back, I'll tell her what she needs to do to set the Ridgemounts and their group back."

* * *

><p><strong>Next up, the girls pick a name for their group as the talent show auditions take place. Also, Captain Ron puts his plan to sabotage the group into action by targeting Mrs. Ridgemount.<strong>

**Partial song lyrics above (sung here by Mrs. Ridgemount) are from "Like a Lover", written by Dori Caymmi, Nelson Motta, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman. I don't own the song.**


	4. Sabotaged

**CHAPTER 4 - SABOTAGED**

**Sorry for the wait, everyone. It took me a little while to decide what song I was going to have Tuna and Betty sing as part of their duet for the talent show before I made my choice. Here's a little hint on whose song Captain Ron's cronies chose - George's pet tarantula in "The Very Very Very Very Very Important Guest" is named after her, and Reef named Broseph's new surfboard for her when he bought it to replace "Angelina", the board Broseph accidentally destroyed in "Surf Surf Revolution".**

* * *

><p>On Saturday, the auditions for the talent show took place at the theatre at Surfer's Paradise, with Reef, Fin and Lo serving as the auditioning judges. A number of local denizens from Sunset Beach, as well as some guests and staff from the hotel, showed up at the theatre to audition, including garage bands composed of high school kids of varying levels of talent, some local amateur musicians, and even Snack Shack, who (being the role-playing geek he was when he was not running the poolside snack kiosk he was nicknamed for) tried out by giving a Shakespeare recital as his audition.<p>

After numerous auditions, the groms went through the weeding-out process and cut the number of would-be performers down to twelve (aside from their own group), including the local musicians, the more-talented garage rock groups and, to throw in a little variety, Snack Shack. To their surprise, however, Reef, Fin and Lo noticed that Tuna and Betty had not shown up for the auditions. "We've gone through about fifty auditions today," Fin noted, "and not one of them was Tuna and Betty. I wonder what happened with them?"

"Maybe Tuna was just full of hot air when he said he and Betty were going to try out for the show," Lo said.

"Or maybe they realized who they were going up against and chickened out," Reef added.

"Then I guess if they're gonna pull a no-show," Fin said, "we might as well wrap up..."

"Not so fast!" a voice called from the back of the auditorium, catching the groms' attention. Fin, Reef and Lo looked to see Captain Ron, Tuna and Betty as they walked toward the stage. "I believe you still have one more audition to do," the longtime rival of Mr. Ridgemount told the gang.

"No can do," Reef said. "You didn't show up when the official auditions were going on, so you're out of luck!"

"What, you tryin' to keep us from auditioning from the show?" Tuna said. "Sounds like you're afraid me and Betty are gonna make you look bad when we get out there to perform. Yeah, we know about that little group of yours you're puttin' together for the show. You're just scared we're gonna make you look like rank amateurs come showtime, bra!"

"No way, dude!" Reef retorted. "We're not scared of a little competition!"

"In fact, we welcome your competition," Fin added. "So bring it on!"

"Oh, you bet we'll bring it on, dudette!" Tuna said as he and Betty walked up the steps leading to the stage. "C'mon Betty, let's show 'em what we got!" Once he and Betty got on the stage, Tuna nodded to his right, where Captain Ron had gone backstage, and a moment later, a pop-sounding instrumental track, commissioned by Captain Ron, began playing over the theatre's sound system as Captain Ron's minions started singing to Betty's choice of song for the talent show, a duet of the Shania Twain song "Party for Two".

When Tuna and Betty finished their duet, Reef looked over to Fin and Lo before giving his verdict. "Nothing all that special, but I guess it'll do," he commented. "You're in."

Walking up to Lo, Captain Ron then said, "Tell your old man it'll be our pleasure to make my hotel look good and yours look like the pits when Tuna and Betty take the stage at your own talent show next week."

"Later, losers!" Tuna remarked in his usual snide manner as he, Betty and Captain Ron walked away laughing. "Stardom, here we come!"

"Don't count on it!" Lo called back defiantly as the Captain Ron contingent left the theatre. "Our group will be ready by then and we'll leave you in the dust!" Turning to Fin and Reef after Captain Ron and company were gone, her confidence then turned to concern as she added, "Okay guys, now I'm worried. Tuna and Betty actually sounded good up here with their song - how're we gonna compete with that?"

"Lo, what's there to worry about?" Fin reasoned. "We've only heard Tuna and Betty sing once, so we don't know for sure how good they really are. As for us, we've been practicing for several days now and we know how good we are. As long as we keep practicing and sound good, that's what matters."

After considering the merit of Fin's words, Lo put on a small smile. "Yeah, you're right," she said after a pause, just as her mother and Emma then arrived on the theatre stage. "If we pack it in based on hearing Tuna and Betty sing one time, then they've already beaten us. We can't let them do that."

"Now that's the spirit, sweetie," Mrs. Ridgemount said encouragingly to Lo. "We'll be the best group we can be and nothing Captain Ron says or does will stop us."

"Thanks Mom, and thanks Fin," a grateful Lo said, putting her hands on the shoulders of her mother and her friend. "That's just what I needed to hear."

"Anytime," Fin responded. "But now that brings us to another issue. We can't just keep on calling our group 'the group' or 'our group' forever. We need to have a name for the group."

"No worries, I've already got it covered," Lo said confidently. "We'll call ourselves the Lo Ridgemount Four."

"Wait a second - 'The Lo Ridgemount Four'?" a skeptical Fin said. "I don't think so."

"How 'bout 'The Reef Experience'?" Reef joined in. "That name's got star power written all over it!"

"Forget it, Reef!" Fin, Lo and Emma all said, shooting down Reef's group name suggestion.

"What's wrong with using the Lo Ridgemount Four as our group name?" Lo asked.

"I don't want the focus to be on one person in the group," Fin stated. "Our group name's gotta be something that covers all the singers in the group."

"Well, we all sing, and we all like to surf," Emma suggested. "How about 'The Surfing Songbirds' as our name?"

"Hey, I like the sound of that," Fin said, impressed by Emma's suggestion. Lo and Mrs. Ridgemount also liked the idea of going with the Surfing Songbirds as the group's name.

"Then it's settled, the Surfing Songbirds it is," Fin declared. "What do you say we start our first official practice under our new group name, then?" After Lo, Emma and Mrs. Ridgemount agreed, the Surfing Songbirds got right into it, practicing their harmonies and solo singing through one song after another.

* * *

><p>The following Monday, Mrs. Ridgemount arrived at the Pirate Ship for lunch when Emma came by to escort her to her usual booth. "How's your singing practice coming along, Mrs. Ridgemount?" Emma asked.<p>

"Very well, Emma, thanks," Mrs. Ridgemount said. "Just want to be sure me and my girls sound our best for the show on Friday. And how're you doing with your pipes?"

"As good as I want them to be," Emma said with a smile. "You want your usual tuna salad for lunch?" she then asked as she sat Mrs. Ridgemount down at her booth.

"You always know what I like, dear," Mrs. Ridgemount said, smiling back.

"Tuna salad it is," said Emma, who always enjoyed serving Lo's mother when she came by the dining lounge. Emma then went off to post the order at the pick-up window while Mrs. Ridgemount did some online surfing for the latest fashion magazine articles on her iPhone while waiting for her lunch to arrive.

In the meantime as Emma went about serving other customers, Betty, who was back in her dark-haired wig and was now wearing a Pirate Ship serving wench outfit as part of her disguise, had spied on Emma and Mrs. Ridgemount from the women's washroom to see what Mrs. Ridgemount would order. Betty's opportunity to sabotage the Surfing Songbirds presented itself when the tuna salad arrived at the pick-up window for delivery. Moving quickly to get to the salad before a busy Emma could get there, Betty took out a small bag of sliced almond slivers from the right sleeve of her costume, sprinkled some of them onto the salad and mixed them in so they would not immediately be noticeable, then she took the salad to where Lo's mother was sitting.

"Oh, thank you, dear," Mrs. Ridgemount said as she got her salad, not realizing who had delivered her lunch to her. As she looked up, Mrs. Ridgemount caught only a brief glimpse of a dark-haired waitress from the back as she made a quick exit from the restaurant. "_Hmm_, that was strange," she said to herself after seeing the "waitress" leave, still not knowing that Betty was the one who had brought her the spiked salad.

Lo, who had just finished a session at the Office and came from the staff house after taking a bubble bath, then arrived at the Pirate Ship and spotted her mother, who had swallowed her first bite of the tuna salad and was about to take her second. "Hi, Mom," Lo said as she sat down with Mrs. Ridgemount. "How's your lunch?"

"Tasty, as always," Mrs. Ridgemount said. "So how did my surfer girl do on the waves this morning?" she added before eating that second bite.

"Totally tubular," Lo remarked. "Been practicing some killer new moves all morning with Fin and Broseph." Looking at her mother's lunch, she then said, "_Mmm_, looks appetizing. Maybe I'll order what you're having."

"Sure, why not?" said Mrs. Ridgemount, who became puzzled when she noticed her voice had become a bit scratchy as she spoke.

Emma then dropped by again to check on the Ridgemount girls. "Hey, I see you already got your salad, Mrs. R," she said as she found the salad she had intended to bring to Mrs. Ridgemount. "I was going to bring you that, but it looks like someone else beat me to it."

"That's okay, Emma," Mrs. Ridgemount responded, her voice becoming gradually more hoarse.

"Wait, do you need some water, Mrs. R?" Emma asked. "You sound like you've got a frog in your throat."

"That might be a good idea," Mrs. Ridgemount said. Turning to Lo, she then asked, "Sweetie, are you and the girls ready to practice later on?"

"Sure, Fin, Emma and I are," Lo said, "though I'm not so sure about you. Your voice seems to be getting worse."

"It's nothing that a glass of water and maybe a bit of honey can't fix," Mrs. Ridgemount said, trying to ease Lo's concern.

"Hold on, I just thought of something," Emma said to Mrs. Ridgemount. "Did you see who it was that brought you your salad earlier?"

"I just got a brief glimpse of her from the back as she was leaving," Mrs. Ridgemount said as her voice now became noticeably hoarse. "All I saw was that she had long dark hair. I never saw her face."

"Can I check your salad, Mom?" Lo said as she took her mother's salad and began examining it with a fork. Within moments, Lo discovered several thin, pale-yellowish/white slivers within the salad and tasted one. "Almonds!" she said, realizing that the salad had been deliberately spiked.

"You don't suppose whoever delivered your mom the salad..." Emma said.

"I don't need to suppose, I think I know who messed with Mom's salad," Lo said, immediately suspecting Captain Ron and his stooges of the sabotage job.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Lo and her mother were at the Sunset Beach Medical Centre, where Mrs. Ridgemount was getting checked out by the family's physician, Dr. Thompson, following the scare she got from eating the almond-spiked tuna salad. After Dr. Thompson had a look into Mrs. Ridgemount's mouth to check her throat, Lo asked, "So, what's the word on Mom?"<p>

"I'm just confirming what you suspected after your mom ate those almonds in the salad," Dr. Thompson reported. "She's come down with laryngitis. She'll be fine in a week or two, but she'll have to give her voice a rest in the meantime."

"But she's supposed to sing as part of my group at the talent show on Friday night," Lo said. "What's she supposed to do for that?"

"Sorry, Lauren," Dr. Thompson said apologetically, "but she'll have to drop out of the talent show to spare her voice."

After the doctor prescribed a throat spray for Mrs. Ridgemount to use for her laryngitis, Lo and her mother left the hospital to head toward Lo's Jeep in the parking lot nearby. "_Ohh_, this is just great," a disappointed Lo groaned, leaning her head on Mrs. Ridgemount's shoulder. "We've lost you from the talent show to a case of laryngitis thanks to Captain Ron. Now what do we do?"

"It's okay, honey," Mrs. Ridgemount, who could now speak only in a whisper, said as she put her arm over her daughter's shoulders to comfort her. "We'll figure out something."

* * *

><p><strong>And Captain Ron strikes again. Thanks to his skullduggery and an assist from Betty, the Surfing Songbirds are now down a member. Who will Fin, Lo and Emma get to replace Mrs. Ridgemount in their group? Stay tuned.<strong>


	5. The Singing Pirate

**CHAPTER 5 - THE SINGING PIRATE**

**After a couple of months, I've _finally_ got Chapter Five posted. As the title states, you can guess who Fin, Lo and Emma will try to recruit to replace Lo's mom in the Surfing Songbirds.**

* * *

><p>After Lo and Mrs. Ridgemount returned to the hotel, they met with Fin, her grandmother and Emma up in Mrs. McCloud's guest room, where Lo told her fellow Surfing Songbirds about her mother being forced to drop out of the talent show because of her case of laryngitis. "That's terrible!" Emma said in response when Lo broke the news. "Your mom's strong as a soloist in the group and without her singing with us, that leaves us one less member for the show. How did that happen?"<p>

"I'll tell you how it happened in two words - Captain Ron," said Lo, who then went into detail about the incident, including her suspicion that the "waitress" who had served Mrs. Ridgemount the spiked salad was Betty in disguise.

"That figures," Mrs. McCloud joined in. "If Captain Ron was dirty enough to try to steal the Tandem Surfing Contest by cheating to make Fin and Reef lose, I don't doubt he'd try something like that with the talent show too."

"And Daddy wasn't happy about it either when I gave him the news over the phone on the way back from the hospital," Lo said. "When he heard what happened to Mom, he vowed to make Captain Ron pay for it, then he told me the best way to do it was to find a new member for the group and keep on practicing until the show. He's even going to tell Bummer to make sure we get the practice time we need when we're not working."

"That's all I needed to hear then," Fin said. She then paused a moment before looking over to Mrs. McCloud. "Grandma, you know how to sing?" she asked.

Mrs. McCloud laughed a little when she heard Fin's question. "Thanks for asking, but I'm not much of a singer," she replied. "Don't get me wrong. I'm flattered you asked, but I don't think I could carry a tune even if it had handles on it, so I'm not the one you should look at to replace Lo's mother in your group."

"That's just what I said to Reef when he tried to stake a claim as our lead singer!" Fin said with a giggle when she heard her grandmother's explanation.

"Even if I could sing," Mrs. McCloud said, "I'd have to be sure about the song I was singing and the performance style of the group I was with. What were you, Lo and Emma going for with your performance?"

"Before Lo's mom joined us, we were kind of all over the place musically," Fin explained. "Lo wanted to do the kind of songs she likes off the radio, I wanted songs with more of an edge and Emma wanted the songs her school choirs covered, so we mixed up our repetoire while we practiced. When Mrs. R joined us, she anchored us and gave us more of a focus with our music." Fin then looked over to Mrs. Ridgemount, who simply nodded in agreement. "When we told her we were trying to emulate the current popular girl groups, she showed us that those groups were influenced by other girl groups that came before them, going right back to when they first became widely popular in the '50s."

Mrs. McCloud then snapped her fingers. "Fin, hand me your laptop. I've got an idea," she said to Fin, who had brought her laptop along with her when she and the rest of the Surfing Songbirds came to her grandmother's room. Mrs. McCloud immediately went to the YouView website to find a video for the song she had in mind, then found the video she wanted. "Fin, you know how popular surfing is in Brazil, right?" she said.

"Sure," Fin replied. "I remember you told me once about surfing in Arpoador when you were still competing, but what's that go to do with..." Quickly realizing where her grandmother was going with her Brazil analogy, Fin's eyes widened, then a smile lit up on her face. "Okay, now I think I know what you're getting at," she said.

"Just wait 'til you hear this before you pass judgement," Mrs. McCloud said, then she clicked the play button to start the YouView video for the song in question, a version of a Brazilian bossa nova tune from the 1960s, which Mrs. McCloud, Mrs. Ridgemount and the girls listened to. When the song ended, Mrs. McCloud asked Fin, "So what do you think of it, honey?"

"Kelly told me her boyfriend likes listening to that kind of music," Fin pointed out. "I think it could work."

"Sounds like he has good taste in music," Mrs. McCloud remarked.

"That's one of the kinds of music he plays 'cause he's a guitar player himself," Fin said. Turning to her friends, she then asked, "Emma, Lo, how 'bout you? You think we should sing it in the talent show?"

"I think it's worth a shot," Emma agreed.

"I still don't see why we can't sing something that's more popular right now," Lo said, giving a dissenting voice.

"We're expecting a mixed audience to come to the hotel for the show on Friday," Fin said. "Some will be guests at the hotel, but a lot of them will be coming here from town, and not everyone that's coming will be fans of Top 40 music like you are, Lo. Besides, we need to do something to stand out from all the garage bands that'll be playing at the show - and especially from Tuna and Betty. Your mom helped us with that and we need to stay on the same path now that we have to get a new fourth singer."

Realizing she would not convince Fin otherwise, Lo let out a sigh of resignation. "Okay, we'll go with your grandma's idea," she relented. "Anything we do has to be better at this point than what Tuna and Betty are doing."

"Only if we keep practicing," Fin stated. "It's the only way we'll be able to keep Captain Ron's crew from upstaging us."

"So if your grandma can't perform with us in the talent show, who else can we get, Fin?" Emma asked.

After thinking a moment, an idea dawned on Fin. "I know just who we could ask," she said to Emma. "Since you and Lo have to get to work soon anyway, let's head for the Pirate Ship."

* * *

><p>"No, no, no, no," Kelly said with a shake of her head when Fin, Lo and Emma approached her at the Pirate Ship with their offer to her. "I'm not gonna sing in the talent show."<p>

"Why not?" Emma asked. "It's not like you haven't sung before. Me and Lo have heard you sing to yourself here in the DR lots of times."

"And we were there to hear you sing during that guitar jam on the beach a while back," Lo added. "Trust us, you were really good when you accompanied Broseph, Ripper and David."

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence," Kelly remarked. "And believe me, it's not that I don't want to join you guys in the show, it's just that, uh...well..."

Fin sensed Kelly's hesitation to finish her answer. "Wait a sec, you're not afraid to sing in front of a crowd, are you, Kelly?" she said.

"No, I'm not afraid to sing in front of others," Kelly replied. "If I were, I wouldn't have sung along during the guitar jam. But your confidence in me to help with your group's a bit misplaced. I'm not really as good as you say I am."

"What?" an incredulous Fin said. "Since when do you think you're not a good singer? I've heard you sing too Kelly, and I agree with Emma and Lo, you _are_ good. You shouldn't doubt yourself about that." Fin then remembered something she and Kelly had talked about a few days earlier. "You're not still thinking about what happened to you that weekend in Victoria two weeks ago, are you?" she then asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Kelly said uneasily. She still was somewhat affected by her clash with her old high school rival, Rebekka Drake, during her late-June weekend trip to Victoria to see David, and not only was she hesitant to discuss it (particularly around Emma and Lo), she was betrayed by her feelings about the spiteful words Rebekka had said to her during their argument in the women's washroom at David's father's restaurant.

Fin, however, was sympathetic to Kelly. "Hey, I understand you don't want to talk about it, but you can't let what happened with that other girl affect you," she said reassuringly. "The stuff she said to you are just words. How right can she be about what she said to you when you keep proving her wrong by being a success at whatever you try?"

"And if you're good enough to sing in front of a few friends on the beach, then you're good enough to sing in our group in front of a crowd at the talent show," Emma said. "You can't deny that, can you?"

"And I've got a little secret to tell you," Lo joined in. "Me and Emma like listening to you sing when you're working. When you do, we know you're feeling good, especially after you've been with David."

Kelly's expression then softened as she lightened up. "Well, thanks guys," she said with a giggle. "I guess you've got a point."

"So what do you say, Kelly?" Fin then asked the Pirate Ship manager. "You ready to become a Surfing Songbird?"

Kelly waited a moment before answering. "Okay, I'm in," she said, prompting Lo and Emma to squeal happily and cheer while Fin smiled. "But I want something in return," Kelly then said, adding in a caveat.

"Okay, what's that?" Fin said.

"Next time David's in town, I want you to give him another surfing lesson at the same time I have mine," Kelly proposed. "He's been improving bit by bit on the waves since his last lesson with you and he said he feels ready to learn to do a trick or two if you'll teach him."

"Consider it done," a grinning Fin readily agreed.

"Yes!" an enthused Kelly said, jubilantly pumping her fist in the air before the four Surfing Songbirds began chatting excitedly among themselves.

* * *

><p>Later that day at the Surfer's Paradise Theatre, the Surfing Songbirds, with new member Kelly joining them on stage, ran through some of their song repetoire, accompanied by Broseph on acoustic guitar and Reef on bongos, while Mrs. McCloud and Mrs. Ridgemount watched them from their seats in the front row. "Doing good up there, girls," Mrs. McCloud praised Fin and company after they finished practicing another song. "Especially you, Kelly. I'm amazed how well you're gelling with the group after just one practice."<p>

"Yeah, me too," Kelly replied. "I'm not usually into the kind of tunes we're practicing here, but I'm blown away by how well we're clicking with these songs."

"I know, right?" Lo agreed. "I think we've got a real chance of making sure Tuna and Betty don't steal the show when we step up here on Friday." Turning to Mrs. Ridgemount, she then asked, "How'd we do, Mom?"

Mrs. Ridgemount, who needed to save her voice as much as possible, gave a thumbs up and smiled.

"Thanks Mom, I knew you'd like it," a pleased Lo said.

"We're not the only ones who should take credit," Emma said. "Broseph sounds great on his guitar and he's fitting right in with our sound."

"My guitar and I both thank you, kind chiquita," Broseph replied while taking a bow, making Emma giggle.

"And hard as it is to believe, Reef's finding his rhythm on the bongos," Fin added. "As long as he keeps at it, we'll sound the best we can be and there's no way Tuna and Betty will outshine us on stage."

"You know it, babe," Reef said. "When we win over the audience, it'll all be because of me," he then bragged.

"And then you go ruin the moment," Fin quipped at Reef, rolling her eyes in exasperation. Turning to Broseph and her fellow Surfing Songbirds, she then said, "Okay guys, let's take our big number from the top."

With Reef and Broseph on musical backup, Fin, Lo, Emma and Kelly began singing their number in harmony while Mrs. Ridgemount and Mrs. McCloud watched their performance. During the number, Ty arrived in the theatre to join his mother in the front row, telling Mrs. Ridgemount that George was off at the hotel pool with Broseph's younger brother Grommet. Even as she sang, Emma took notice of Ty's appearance, but quickly reminded herself not to get distracted by the presence of her crush as the Surfing Songbirds practiced.

Once the girls finished their song, Ty, Mrs. Ridgemount and Mrs. McCloud began applauding in the front row. "Great work, girls!" an impressed Mrs. McCloud said, pleased to hear the outcome of the rehearsal. "I'd swear you sound just as good as the groups I listened to back in my time."

"Thanks Grandma, lots of practice and coaching from you and Mrs. Ridgemount did the trick," Fin said.

"So, Ty, what did you think?" Emma asked, eager to hear the opinion of her best friend's brother.

"I don't usually listen to bossa nova," Ty, who was more of a hard rock fan, admitted, "but your number sounded good. Keep at it and you'll do great at the talent show."

Ty's praise was music to Emma's ears, as she squealed with delight. Turning to Lo, she said giddily, "Did you hear that, Lo? Ty loved our song! He actually told me so!"

"Take that praise for what it's worth, Em," Lo responded. "Ty usually prefers bands like Nickelback and Queens of the Stone Age, so if he's praising what we're doing in the talent show, it's gotta mean something."

While the gang was talking on the stage, Betty, who was now in another disguise with an auburn wig and a different dress, was eavesdropping on the Surfing Songbirds' practice session from an exit at the back of the theatre, making sure not to be spotted. After noticing Kelly replacing Mrs. Ridgemount in the group and hearing how well they performed, Betty then gave Tuna a call on her phone.

* * *

><p>Back at Captain Ron's hotel, Tuna was walking through the main entrance when his cell phone rang. He answered it and talked to Betty, who told him about what she saw at the Surfer's Paradise Theatre during the Surfing Songbirds' rehearsal. Not looking too pleased with what he heard, Tuna headed over to the hotel pool where Captain Ron was. "Anything new from Betty about our competition in the talent show?" Captain Ron asked. "Some good news, I hope."<p>

"Not so much, Captain Ron," Tuna told his boss. "Our plan to sabotage Lo Ridgemount's group didn't quite work like we wanted. She just got someone else to replace her mom in the group, that pirate chick who runs the restaurant at Surfer's Paradise," he added, referring to Kelly stepping in for Mrs. Ridgemount in the Surfing Songbirds. "What's worse, the pirate chick's got radical pipes on her. She sure knows how to sing and she could make that group a real threat to our plan to take centre stage at the talent show."

Captain Ron growled in frustration and facepalmed himself upon hearing that news, but he quickly composed himself. "Well, it doesn't matter what they do now," he said. "You and Betty _will_ become the stars at the show, and I'll see to it that you do." Captain Ron then picked up the laptop that rested on the small table beside the sunlounger he sat back on, then looked his computer over.

"Thanks to the secret weapon I got here, Lo Ridgemount and her group will end up looking second-rate at her hotel's own talent show compared to you and Betty," Captain Ron continued, referring to what he had on his laptop. "Since you're also representing this hotel at the show, it'll also make my hotel look world-class and stick it to Lo's father and his hotel once again, then more tourists will choose coming here over Surfer's Paradise. All you and Betty got to do is get out there and look good, and I'll do the rest."

* * *

><p><strong>So what does Captain Ron have up his sleeve that he's going to use to benefit Tuna and Betty at the talent show? And what is the number the Surfing Songbirds will be performing when they take the stage? There's only one way to find out...<strong>


	6. It's Showtime!

**CHAPTER 6 - IT'S SHOWTIME!**

**The talent show is ready to go as this final chapter begins, with the Surfing Songbirds facing off against Tuna and Betty - but with Captain Ron having more than one ace up his sleeve, how will Lo, Fin, Emma and Kelly deal with the dastardly trio's scheme to take centre stage at the show? Also, a later part in this chapter involving Reef is a nod to the Season Two episode "My Fair Leslie" (the part where Reef has to play saxophone for Mr. Ridgemount and successfully does so), and we also get a ReeFin moment at the end.  
><strong>

**The Cullens of Death Metal - I thought you might like my inclusion of the Queens of the Stone Age reference when Lo mentioned Ty's favorite bands last chapter. "No One Knows" is one of my favorite tunes of theirs too and I also saw their performance of "Little Sister" on David Letterman a few years ago. Ty's not the only one who likes hard rock though, as you'll see in the first paragraph when it mentions who Fin likes...**

* * *

><p>Early on Friday night, the Surfer's Paradise Theatre was packed to its capacity of 1,000 seats for the charity talent show, with each arrival paying admission by a suggested $10 donation to the Sunset Beach animal shelter. The Kahuna, acting as the emcee for the show, introduced each of the acts performing on stage, while Mrs. Ridgemount, Ty, George and Mrs. McCloud had front-row seats to watch the performances. The younger members of the audience, including Ty and George, enjoyed hearing the high school garage rock bands that came on stage during the first part of the show, and Fin, while watching from backstage, even enjoyed one group's performance of "Joker and the Thief" by Wolfmother, one of her favorite bands.<p>

Meanwhile in the backstage area, the Surfing Songbirds, along with Reef and Broseph, were trading barbs with Tuna and Betty over the plans by the Captain Ron tandem to take centre stage during the show. "You need to buy yourselves an alarm clock to wake you up," Reef told Tuna, "'cause you're dreaming if you think you and Betty are gonna be the stars of the show tonight."

"Who says we're dreamin', hotshot?" Tuna fired back. "Me and Betty _will_ be the stars tonight once we do our number. That's a fact, Jack, so deal."

"You and Betty, 'stars'?" Fin retorted. "If you've got the talent to be stars, then Captain Ron's a champion bodybuilder. One performance at the auditions doesn't make you stars. That's for the audience to decide."

"Then we'll let them decide when we get out on stage," Tuna said. "But it still won't make a difference. In the end, me and Betty will still end up on top and everyone'll be sayin' 'The Surfing Who?' 'bout you and your little group."

At the same time, Mr. Ridgemount and Captain Ron were having their own argument. "You got a lot of nerve showing your face here after what you did to sabotage my daughter's group, Captain Ron!" Mr. Ridgemount snarled.

"What?" Captain Ron said, feigning innocence. "I had no idea your wife was allergic to almonds, really! Can I help it if the cooks at your restaurant can't get a lunch order right?"

"That's real convenient," Mr. Ridgemount said. "Deny everything after we find out you sent one of your stooges to spy on us and to do your dirty work. That doesn't matter now because the Surfing Songbirds will still be the better group in the end!"

"Not if Tuna and Betty prove themselves the better group first," Captain Ron said. "You know what else? I saw a reporter from the local paper in the front row earlier, covering the talent show. When he sees the performance Tuna and Betty are going to put on, that'll give my hotel the publicity it needs to put it on top over your overrated bed-and-breakfast place once again."

"We'll see who gets the last laugh in the end!" Mr. Ridgemount told Captain Ron before he turned to the Surfing Songbirds. "Okay Lauren, you and your group know what you have to do," he said to Lo.

"We do, Daddy," Lo replied with a smile. "We'll do you and the hotel proud and we won't let Tuna and Betty get the better of us."

* * *

><p>After most of the other acts had finished their performances, the Kahuna stepped onto the stage to introduce Tuna and Betty, who were up next. "Alright dudes and dudettes," Kahuna announced, "next up on the program, direct from... Uh, what's the name of Captain Ron's hotel again? Ah, never mind. Let's have a round of applause for our next act, Tuna McGillis and Betty Sandstone!"<p>

The audience broke into applause as the stage curtains drew back and Tuna and Betty, both dressed in color-matched outfits for their act, walked onto the stage and into the spotlight. After the duo picked up their microphones, Captain Ron started up their instrumental pop track from backstage and they soon launched into their rendition of "Party for Two", which most of the younger audience members started rooting for once they recognized the song.

While walking backstage, Fin, who was carrying a bottle of water from the catering table nearby, decided to watch Tuna and Betty's performance. As she was about to say to herself what she thought of the Captain Ron duo's act, she noticed that his laptop was hooked up to the theatre's sound system - then she saw that there was a program running on the laptop. With Captain Ron's back turned on her to watch his minions on stage, Fin got a closer look at the laptop and immediately recognized the program. _No wonder Tuna and Betty sounded perfect during their audition last week and on stage right now_, Fin thought to herself. _Captain Ron's using Auto-Tune to embellish their vocals!_

Not wanting to see Captain Ron and his lackeys cheat again to get the upper hand, Fin quickly got an idea. She uncapped her water bottle, took a couple of steps forward and then "tripped" and fell to the floor, sending the bottle flying out of her hand. Thanks to a little strategic aim, Fin's plan worked as the bottle landed and spilled water onto Captain Ron's laptop, frying the computer on the spot and deactivating both the Auto-Tune program and the instrumental track.

For a few moments after Captain Ron's laptop quit, Tuna and Betty continued singing, but without the Auto-Tune to enhance their vocals, they now sounded off-key and, in Betty's case, slightly nasal. When they realized moments later that their backing music had suddenly stopped, Tuna and Betty's singing trailed off and then stopped, then they stood there looking nervously at the audience, which sat in disbelieving silence for a few moments. While a stunned Captain Ron looked on from the wings, some grumbling arose from the audience at the last few moments of what they saw, realizing that Tuna and Betty's "performance" had been a hoax.

"What is this, a joke or something?" one audience member then spoke aloud.

"Someone air out the theatre, this act stinks!" someone else in the audience said of Tuna and Betty.

"Get off the stage, Milli Vanilli!" a third heckler then piped up.

"Close the curtain, close the curtain!" a desperate Captain Ron then said to a stage hand, who then drew the curtains closed amid a small amount of booing now coming from the audience. Kahuna then walked onto the stage and commented about the act, "Well, that was...awkward."

When Tuna and Betty got backstage, Tuna asked Captain Ron, "Dude, what happened with the tuneage? We looked like total hodads out there!"

"That's what I'd like to know," Captain Ron commented as he turned around - then discovered the reason Tuna and Betty's act had ended disastrously. "What happened to my laptop?" he said in shock as he saw the now-ruined computer, which was sparking and dripping wet with a water bottle next to it. He then saw Fin getting up from the floor close by, helped up by Emma and Lo while Kelly stood by. "_You_ did this?" a flustered Captain Ron barked at Fin.

When she saw the result of her handiwork, Fin simply smirked and shrugged. "Oops, my bad," the blonde tomboy remarked. "That sure was clumsy of me, huh?" Captain Ron's face then turned red and he gritted his teeth, angry over his plot to steal the spotlight at the talent show for Tuna and Betty being foiled, as Fin and her fellow Surfing Songbirds walked away laughing.

"Of all the things to happen!" Captain Ron ranted to his employees. "That McCloud girl messed everything up for us!"

"We haven't wiped out yet, Captain Ron," Tuna then pointed out. "We still got our Plan B. In fact, me and Betty already executed it before we went on stage. Wait'll those Surfin' Spongebrains find out what hit 'em!"

Captain Ron then brightened up when he heard Tuna's news. "Yeah, that's right, Plan B!" he said. "I'd sure like to be a fly on the wall at the other end of backstage when they see the results."

* * *

><p>On the other side of the backstage area, Reef and Broseph, who were both wearing Hawaiian shirts to distinguish themselves as the musical backup for the Surfing Songbirds, were beside themselves with anger when they discovered what happened to their instruments as they went to get them. "Dude, my guitar!" Broseph complained as he looked at the remains of his guitar, whose neck had been broken off of the main body (which also had a shoe sole-shaped hole stomped through its back) and whose strings had been cut. "How could this happen?"<p>

"You think that's bad, dude?" Reef said. "Look at my bongos!" He then held up what was left of his bongos, whose skins had been punched through.

"I think we can top that," said a less-than-pleased Lo, who then showed up with Fin, Emma and Kelly, who each carried what appeared to be ripped pieces of fabric. "_These_ were supposed to be the dresses we were going to wear for our act!" the hotel heiress griped as she held out the tattered remains of the aquamarine-colored dress for Reef and Broseph to see.

"_Yeesh!_" Reef said, cringing when he saw the now-ruined dress. "What's up with that?"

"Two words: Tuna and Betty," Kelly said, getting right to the point.

"Kelly's right," Fin agreed. "Long story short, what happened to our dresses and to your instruments was sabotage and it has Tuna and Betty's fingerprints all over it," she said of the act of vandalism she and the others suspected Captain Ron's employees of committing. "They wanted to make sure that we wouldn't get to perform in the show at all."

"What're we going to do then?" a worried Emma said. "Snack Shack's on stage now giving a Shakespeare recital, and there's only one act left after him before we have to go on. Without our dresses and the guys' instruments, we won't be ready in time!"

"Not necessarily," Lo then said, suddenly getting a gleam in her eye. She then sprinted over to a nearby storage room, unlocked it and ducked inside for a moment, then re-emerged carrying a big shopping bag and two musical instruments, which she brought to the gang. "I came prepared for this 'cause I had a feeling Captain Ron might resort to desperate measures against us," she said to her friends. "Here guys, I hope these'll work for you," she added before handing an acoustic guitar to Broseph and an alto saxophone to Reef.

"Hey, now we're talkin'!" Reef said with a grin as he beheld the saxophone. "I played the sax in band class at school, so this works out."

"Cool," Lo said. "As long as you know how to improv while playing, we're good."

"Improv?" a confused Reef asked.

"Play it by ear as you go along," Lo explained.

"_Ohhh_, right!" Reef said, now getting what improvisation meant. "Hey, wait a minute," he then said. "If I'm playing the sax now, who's gonna do percussion?"

"Sorry I'm late, guys," Johnny, who was wearing the same type of Hawaiian shirt Reef and Broseph also had on, said as he arrived backstage, carrying a portable keyboard.

"Dude, when did you join the band?" Reef asked Johnny.

"I asked him to join you and Broseph on musical backup a few days ago," Lo said. "He's also part of my contingency plan against Captain Ron."

"Lo told me what song you guys would be doing," Johnny said, "so I checked out the same video Mrs. McCloud showed you, then I programmed some percussion and string section tracks into the keyboard to play in the background."

"Nice," an impressed Fin remarked. Turning to Lo and the bag she was carrying, she then asked, "So, what's in the shopping bag?"

"I had Mom get us a second set of dresses to wear for the show, just in case Captain Ron had Tuna and Betty try something with the first set," Lo said, "and I'm glad she did. Here, take 'em out and try 'em on." Lo, Fin, Emma and Kelly then each took a dress out from the bag and headed off to a nearby dressing room to get changed.

* * *

><p>After the next-to-last act of the evening finished up and left the stage, Kahuna walked back on as the curtains closed. "Alright folks, let's have a hand for, uh...whoever those guys were!" he announced, forgetting the act's name and earning him a few choice words yelled at him from the wings by one of the act's members. Carrying on, he added, "Now before I introduce our final act of the night, I got an announcement to make. Thanks to your donations, some of which exceeded the suggested $10, we managed to raise $10,820 for the local animal shelter tonight."<p>

After some applause from the crowd, Kahuna continued, "And the hotel owner, Mr. Ridgemount, has said he'll match whatever the show takes in tonight with an equal donation of his own, so the total amount that'll be donated to the shelter will be $21,640!" The audience began applauding again, this time even louder.

"And now, without further ado," Kahuna finished up with a little more enthusiasm, "let's give it up for tonight's final act! Introducing Surfer's Paradise's own Fin, Lo, Emma and Kelly, the Surfing Songbirds!" As the curtains drew open, the audience all applauded except for George, who began booing simply because of Lo being in the group. Ty, who was about to start filming the group's performance on his video camera, responded to George's rude display by elbowing him in his right arm to shut him up.

"That's your sister up there about to perform," Ty admonished George. "Show some respect."

As the applause continued, Reef, Broseph and Johnny took their spots toward the back of the stage, which was decorated with palm tree props for the act, while Fin, Lo, Emma and Kelly, each of whom were elegantly dressed in a form-fitting cyan blue dress with spaghetti shoulder straps and frills, stepped in front of their microphone stands at centre stage, looking very much like a united and professional-looking girl group.

While Captain Ron, Tuna and Betty, who were all surprised to see the Surfing Songbirds actually make it onto the stage, watched in stunned silence from the wings as they realized their Plan B had failed, Johnny started things up by activating the percussion track on his keyboard to set the rhythm of the song. As Broseph joined in on his guitar, Johnny then started the string section track, then the girls, starting with Kelly, launched into the song:

**(Kelly, solo)**  
><em>Sky, so vast is the sky, with far away clouds just wandering by,<em>  
><em>Where do they go? Oh I don't know, don't know;<em>  
><strong>(Lo, joining Kelly)<strong>  
><em>Wind that speaks to the leaves, telling stories that no one believes,<em>  
><em>Stories of love belong to you and to me.<em>

**(Fin, Lo, Emma and Kelly together)**  
><em>Oh, Dindi, if I only had words I would say all the beautiful<em>  
><em>Things that I see when you're with me, oh my Dindi.<em>  
><em>Oh Dindi, like the song of the wind in the trees, that's how my heart is<em>  
><em>Singing Dindi, happy Dindi, when you're with me.<em>

_I love you more each day, yes I do, yes I do;_  
><em>I'd let you go away, if you take me with you.<em>

**(Reef, saxophone solo)**

**(The girls, together)**  
><em>Don't you know, Dindi, I'll be running and searching for you like a river that<em>  
><em>Can't find the sea, that would be me without you, Dindi.<em>

_Like a river that can't find the sea_  
><em>Without you, Dindi.<em>

While the song played, the girls captured the audience's attention with their vocals and harmonies, which sounded amazingly good for their first public performance. Kelly sang clear as a bell with her vocals; Lo sang beautifully, sounding angelic with her performance; and with their harmony vocals, Fin and Emma unified the girls' sound. Meanwhile, Mr. Ridgemount, who was also watching from backstage, was blown away by Reef's saxophone solo and his ability to improv during the solo.

But in the end, the Surfing Songbirds proved worthy of their name thanks to the girls' heavenly-sounding harmonies, which actually moved some members of the audience to tears, including an amazed Mrs. Ridgemount, who was touched by Lo's moving vocals while she watched her daughter from the front row. When the song ended, the impressed audience gave the group a standing ovation that lasted several minutes, easily marking the Surfing Songbirds' performance as the highlight of the night, while Fin, Lo, Emma and Kelly, along with musical backup Reef, Broseph and Johnny, stepped up and took their bows. The only one in the audience who did not applaud, however, was a resentful George, who slumped in his seat, crossed his arms and scowled.

Back in the wings, Captain Ron, Tuna and Betty, realizing that their evil scheme to steal the spotlight at the talent show and sabotage the Surfing Songbirds had failed, turned around and walked away. "Let's get out of here," Captain Ron grumbled as he and his stooges, feeling embarrassed about Tuna and Betty's act flopping and angry that the Surfer's Paradise gang had beaten them again, left the theatre through a stage door, both to avoid the still-applauding audience and to avoid the potential wrath of Lo and her friends and Mr. Ridgemount.

* * *

><p>After the talent show ended and the theatre had mostly emptied out, Reef, Broseph, Johnny and the Surfing Songbirds, along with Ty, Mrs. McCloud and Mr. and Mrs. Ridgemount, were on the auditorium floor in front of the stage, reminiscing about the night's events. Ty was showing Emma a playback of the footage he filmed of the group's performance on his camera. "Wow, that looks really good, Ty!" Emma said of the footage.<p>

"Glad you like it," Ty replied. "Your group did a great job on stage too. Lo told me what Captain Ron tried to do to stop you from performing, so I think that's what makes this all the sweeter."

"Too bad he, Tuna and Betty didn't stick around," Emma said, thinking about the Captain Ron crew's sabotage attempts on the Surfing Songbirds. "I would've loved to give them a piece of my mind for what they did."

"You're not the only one," Kelly, who had also been watching Ty's video footage of the group on stage, agreed. "Ty, would you be able to make me a copy of that video?" the Pirate Ship manager then asked. "I'd like to e-mail it to my family back home in Nanaimo and to David in Victoria so they can see it."

"Sure thing, Kelly," Ty said. "In fact, I'm making everyone in the group each a souvenir copy of the video for a keepsake."

_Eeeee!_ Emma squealed giddily to herself as she smiled at Ty, happy to be getting something from him. "Thanks Ty, that'll be so awesome!" she then said.

Close by, Lo was with her parents, talking about the show. "Congratulations Lauren, you really pulled it off," Mr. Ridgemount praised his daughter. "The animal shelter will have its money to cover its costs, and the show itself was a success for the most part despite that debacle with Tuna and Betty. Thanks to you, your friends and your efforts, we just might make this an annual event!"

"Thanks, Daddy," Lo replied. "It sure feels good knowing I could do it for all those dogs and cats in the shelter." Turning to her mother, she then said, "I sure wish you could've been up there on stage performing with us, Mom."

"I know, honey," said Mrs. Ridgemount, whose voice had improved since her attack of laryngitis but was not yet back to normal. "I would've loved to be there singing with you too. Kelly did an admirable job filling in for me in the group, but you were really wonderful up there tonight. Your singing was beautiful and moving and it made the song you sung sound so much better. I hope I'll get the chance to sing with you publicly next time."

"You will, Mom, you will," Lo, who was touched by Mrs. Ridgemount's confidence in her singing, said with a smile. She then gave her mother a hug and said, "And thanks Mom, I love you."

"That's a promise," Mrs. Ridgemount said, returning Lo's hug. "And I love you too, sweetie."

Near stage left, Reef and Fin were debating over who was the bigger star in the performance earlier. "No question, my sax skills were on tonight and they wowed the audience," Reef bragged. "Most of that applause afterward was for me. They know talent when they hear it!"

"In your dreams, kook," Fin retorted. "Most of that applause was for me, Lo, Emma and Kelly. The audience loved our singing and they made it clear."

"With that foghorn voice of yours?" Reef joked, trying to belittle Fin's singing. "Any applause you got was more out of pity than anything else. Admit it, you suck as much at singing as you do at surfing compared to me."

"_Ugh!_ As if!" Fin snapped, falling for Reef's baiting. "You're lucky I don't take _your_ foghorn and cram it..."

"Easy now, Fin," Mrs. McCloud interrupted, coming between the arguing duo. "Still fighting like a married couple, eh?"

"We wouldn't have to if Reef wasn't so annoying, Grandma," Fin said while continuing to glare at Reef.

"How am I being annoying?" Reef said. "I just said most of the applause after our act was for me 'cause of my mad sax skills out there."

"And then you turned it into a jab at me and my singing _and_ surfing skills..." Fin countered.

"Okay, Reef, stop baiting Fin. And Fin, stop falling for it," said Mrs. McCloud, having to step in and play the peacemaker. "I watched you both from the front row and you both put on a great show during your act. You and your group sounded a lot like the groups I listened to back in the '60s and that's a good thing, so I don't see why you both have to argue about who was better than who up on stage."

"Well, okay," Fin then said first, attempting to be the bigger person between her and Reef. "I'll admit Reef did a great job with his saxophone solo up there. He actually sounded good improving his bridge between our verses."

After a brief but awkward pause, Reef then spoke up. "And I'll admit that Fin was...well, uh, really good with her harmony singing," he said, forcing himself to swallow his pride. "If she had the chance, I think she even would've sounded good singing a solo part in the song."

Fin's expression softened when she heard Reef compliment her singing. "Really?" she said.

"Sure," Reef responded. "I was only kidding you about that 'foghorn' bit anyway. Really, you _do_ sound good singing. If I ever had the chance to hear you sing solo..."

"Say no more, Reef," Fin said with a smile. "I might decide to surprise you sometime." Turning to Mrs. McCloud, Fin added, "By the way Grandma, that was a good choice of song for us to sing in the show. How'd you first find out about it?"

"First time I heard 'Dindi'," Mrs. McCloud recalled, "it was playing on the radio when I was with a couple of friends down in Los Angeles, getting ready for my first appearance in the World Women's Surfing Championship back in 1966. I've remembered that song ever since because of its association with my first World surfing title."

"Wow, that sounds cool," Fin said. "Thanks for helping us choose that song, Grandma. It's not the type of music I'm usually into, but if it won over the audience at the talent show and it helped us upstage Tuna and Betty, it can't be so bad."

"My pleasure, dear," Mrs. McCloud said before she kissed Fin on her cheek, then hugged her granddaughter.

"I'm gonna be sorry to see you go when you have to head back home in a couple of days," Fin then said. "Surfing with you here was one of the best memories I'm going to have of Surfer's Paradise when I go back to Halifax after Gromfest."

"Well, there's no reason why we can't add to those memories," Mrs. McCloud told Fin. "I still have one more full day here tomorrow, so we can get a session in at the beach then. Bring Reef along too if you like."

"Oh, _sweeeet!_" an enthused Reef said. "Wait'll you see the new moves I've been brushin' up on, Mrs. McC. I guarantee you and Fin they'll rock your world!"

"See what I gotta put up with, Grandma?" Fin said about Reef in an aside to Mrs. McCloud, who then laughed.

"Hey, who's up for pizza?" Broseph called as he came back into the auditorium from the theatre lobby after picking up a delivery of two large pizzas. "I got one Hawaiian and one with the works here!" When they heard pizza getting mentioned, Fin, Reef and the rest of the group then gathered around to each grab a piece to celebrate the success of Lo's idea to raise funds for charity through the talent show.

**THE END**

* * *

><p><strong>Song lyrics above (performed by the Surfing Songbirds here) are from "Dindi", written by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Aloysio de Oliveria and Ray Gilbert. I don't own the song.<strong>

**Comments and reviews, as always, are welcome.  
><strong>


End file.
